Resignations prompt Danish cabinet reshuffle

The Danish government has had a turbulent week, with two ministers stepping down and a third clinging on to her job despite admitting lying to parliament.

Prime Minister Helle-Thorning Schmidt has therefore been forced to reshuffle her cabinet for the second time this year, putting pressure on the coalition of her Social Democrats, the Socialist People’s Party, and the Social Liberal Party. “This should hopefully be the last one,” Thorning-Schmidt said of the reshuffle on Thursday (12 December).

Two cabinet posts needed filling after Villy Søvndal resigned as foreign minister on 11 December for health reasons. He will also step down as a member of parliament. A day earlier, Morten Bødskov stepped down as justice minister after admitting lying to parliament about the cancellation of a parliamentary trip to Christiania, a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood of Copenhagen.

On 11 December, Annette Vilhelmsen, the social minister, admitted that she lied to parliament when she said that there was a “completely level playing-field” for organisations seeking government grants, despite having promised money to a group that promotes voter participation before a tender process had begun.